religion: 1/25 of 27

Pope Francis's forthcoming statement on climate change could just revitalise progress towards significant emissions cuts, writes Jonathon Porritt. But more than that, it will open up the space for a wider spirituality to guide our thinking, and campaigning, on climate and other key global challenges.more...

In his search for alternatives to consumerism and industrialism, Jules Pretty travelled around the world to find surviving nature-based cultures. In this extract from his book 'The Edge of Extinction', he tells of the Tuva people of the Siberian steppe - proud of their traditions and closeness to the land, but very much part of the modern world - strictly on their own terms.more...

After Gezi Park, another battle for one of Istanbul's increasingly rare green spaces is raging, writes Nick Ashdown - and this time it's on the city's Asian side. Demonstrators are holding a 24-hour vigil on the edge of an 'illegal' construction site at Validebag Grove - despite having been repeatedly detained and attacked by police.more...

The words 'Crusaders' and 'Zionists' are appearing ever more often as twins, writes Uri Avnery - and there are astonishing historical resonances between the two. If Israel wants to avoid the fate of the medieval Crusaders, it had better start accentuating the differences, and become a true Middle Eastern state, rooted in the region's native soil and culture.more...

The bells of mindfulness are calling out to us, writes Thich Nhat Hanh, trying to awake us and remind us to reduce our impact on the planet. But more than that, to avert environmental catastrophe we must awake others too, and create a revolution in our collective human consciousness.more...

We must accept the reality that human beings, nature and cosmos are interconnected in a vast circular system, writes Jane Cull. To sustain ourselves on this planet, we must sustain the web of life of which we are part, and construct another kind of world that based on that understanding.more...

Halal ritual slaughter has raised huge controversy in the UK press, writes Alicia Miller. But the far greater issue is farm animals' entire quality of life - as reflected in the Qu'ranic principle that meat must be 'tayyib' - good, wholesome and from well-treated, healthy animals. Is this something we can all agree on?more...

As the World Cup gets under way in Brazil, Yanomami shaman Davi Kopenawa told Liam J Shaughnessy about the very different world he inhabits, deep in the Amazon rainforest - a world of bright spirits, ancient knowledge, union with nature. And a world under threat.more...

Left-wing, progressive politicians hold sway across Latin America, writes Benjamin Dangl. But defying their own 'green' rhetoric, they are committed to mining and other environmentally damaging development. Now they face growing resistance from small farmers and indigenous peoples.more...

A trip to the Achuar Indians of the Ecuadorian Amazon proved life-changing for Stephen Wallace. Their only desire is to enjoy what they have, and ensure that their children can do the same. But the threat of oil is casting a dark shadow of fear over their lives.more...

To tackle the world's most pressing problems, writes Winslow Myers - like climate chaos, insecurity, hunger, poverty and disease - we must build a life-affirming peace free of the Earth-destroying nuclear weapons whose dark shadow bears down on us all.more...

Singer-songwriter Kristin Hoffmann reflects on the natural and divine inspiration that underlies her music, and urges us to both listen and play to rediscover the inner harmonies that are so easily obliterated by the brute cacophony of industrialism.more...

religion: 1/25 of 27

The debate about halal and kosher animal slaughter is missing the point, writes William Naphy. The question of consciousness at the moment of death is far less important than the suffering animals endure in the preceding minutes, hours, days and months.more...

After a peaceful protest against nuclear weapons showed up shoddy security at a $19 billion nuclear bomb factory site, writes Kevin Alexander Gray, Uncle Sam got mad - against the protestors, now jailed for up to five years. Will Peace Prize winner Obama set them free?more...

How, and why, does the US Right and its evangelical 'Christian' wing campaign for mal-education, ignorance, corporate dominance, and the profligate consumption of fossil fuels? J P Sottile explores an alien planet ...more...

Taking responsibility for our actions, fighting for justice and living in harmony with the rest of creation are among the founding principles of every religion. So why is there is no interfaith, or even inter-Christian statement on climate change? more...

A year ago, my brother, who is probably a better gardener than me (even though he does insist on giving half his land over to mangel-wurzels, whatever they are) gave me a book called "Gardening and Planting by the Moon"more...

Receiving the Global Environment Citizen Award in December, US television journalist Bill Moyers warned of the threat posed to the planet by America’s religious right. This is an abridged version of his speech